Five per cent drop in the number of reduced council tax claimants in Doncaster

Fewer people are claiming reduced council tax in Doncaster this year when compared with 2017, according to official data.

Between April and June last year, 26,053 people in the borough were receiving some form of council tax relief, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government figures have revealed. However over the same period in 2018, that number had dropped by five per cent to 24,683. Across England there were three per cent fewer claimants overall in the same time period. People can be eligible to pay reduced council tax if they are on a low income, claim benefits or a pensioner. The amount they are entitled to can vary from a 5 per cent discount, to only paying 5 per cent of the total bill. The Government sets the rate at which pensioners pay council tax, however individual local authorities decide on working claimants. In Doncaster, the number of pensioners claiming council tax relief dropped by 581 last year and the number of working age claimants reduced by 789.